Welcome to all new Circle members! Each section of the Circle of Nations newsletter is written 'facing' one of the four sacred winds, beginning with the east, then the south, west and finally the north. This is to honor the old ways. It is to teach and to help us to focus and find the center. I welcome you all to the Circle....

EAST - Wiyohinyanpata - Yellow (Four Winds)A gift like no other....

JTH in the Badlands on Christmas DaySo there I am, on my horse, CH, in the Badlands on Christmas day in the middle of the Big Foot Memorial Ride in South Dakota. The ride commemorates and pays homage to the over 420 victims of the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29th, 1890, and I was honored and humbled to make this sacrifice with and for my people. Normally, when we think of Christmas, thoughts of shiny lights, decorated trees, bow tied presents and warm cozy fireside evenings dance through our minds. I believe it is also worth noting that the Christmas holiday has no doubt become very commercialized. Let me say here that I have no issues with folks making a living. I could not create or perform my music as I do if I did not earn something for it! So I am not sitting in the seat of judgement here. Having said that, I cannot begin to express to you the profound blessing I received by being so far away from everything so commonly associated with Christmas this past year. So, again, that's me there in the photo, on Christmas day. There were no presents. There was no fire, that's for sure! And there were no sugar plums dancing in my head. I rode beside an 18 year old Lakota girl who has been doing the ride every year since she was 12 years old. She said that her Christmas present every year is to ride through the Badlands on Christmas day. What a comment that was. What an amazing young lady. Her words spoke of what is real, versus what is artificial. Tons of presents under a tree could never rival the gift of being on that horse in the frozen tundra of the Badlands making a sacrifice for the healing of a century old wound, and doing it alongside so many others. As you see me in that photo, my body is suffering. My knees hurt so bad that I welcomed the bitter cold to numb them up, and my back was so sore that it seemed one more bounce in that saddle would do permanent damage. And yet, I was in heaven. I was receiving the greatest gift I had ever been given. A gift like no other.... the gift that you can only receive by giving everything you have first. I want to thank that young Lakota girl for sharing with me her Christmas present. For in doing so, she helped open my spirit so I could receive mine. In a world where so many think far too often of what they can get, it was refreshing to be in a place on Christmas day where the only thing that mattered was how much you can give....

SOUTH - Itokagata - Red (Red Earth)

A word from Peggy....Hello friends, I am happy to welcome a new year. I left 2013 with a cold and flu and said hello to a new year thru coughs and smiles. 2013 was a rough year for us and yet still it had some incredibly beautiful moments. That is life.

I am so incredibly filled with hope, focus and positive intention for this new year. We will birth our new company Moon Wave, healthy planet, healthy you. All events and products to be organic, sustainable and holistic... caring for our planet and each other. All we need is love!

The new 2014 JTH Signature Series Flute is being developed as we speak. We will begin taking orders in February. This new 'Horse Spirit' flute will be in honor of the Big Foot Memorial Ride, which John just participated in, and the Horse Spirit Society that invited John and provided his trusty horse, CH for the ride.For the new year we have some great specials on JohnTwoHawks.com25% off all CDs and Beautiful World items. We also have some new flutes for sale, and they are also discounted.

Check out our schedule for 2014, we are adding dates regularly.If you would like a booth at any of our upcoming Moon Wave Expos in St. Louis and Eureka Springs, contact me at 888-790-9091see ya soon in Florida!

Peace,PeggyThe Official JTH Site ~ Native Circle

WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)Hope for humanity....Big Foot Riders ride into Wounded KneeMy friends and relatives.... in this photo we, the Big Foot Memorial Riders, were coming down the hill into Wounded Knee. We had rode nearly 120 miles in the bitter cold at that point, and this 8 mile procession down the road toward the mass grave at Wounded Knee was perhaps the most painful. As we look forward to 2014 and beyond, I pray that, as we Lakota people did on this ride, all of humanity will find a way to do - to seek healing. There are many wounds and scars throughout the cultures of the world, both historical and current. We must seek the path to mend the brokenness, and right the wrongs. Only through humility and sacrifice will we ever find our way to this healing and peace. We must give to one another. We must set aside our need to be right, our ego. We must truly see each other, that we might recognize that we are indeed relatives. As I made the 135 mile journey to honor Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) and his people, I prayed for the healing of all humanity. Greed, hate and violence can seem very powerful, and yet those things are weak and puny in the face of great wisdom, humility and love. Wisdom, humility and love always prevail against the arrogance of greed, hate and violence. And so, let us love. For love faces and overcomes fear. Hate cowers and surrenders to fear. Let us heal the wounds of the past with the love we have within us today, and find our way to a peaceful future with the hope we have for tomorrow. Yes, there are deep scars that need healing. And with love, all things are possible. As I rode alongside over 130 riders in this photo here, I saw firsthand that hate did not prevail against my people. Hate is a coward. Let us not be afraid of it, but look it in the eye, and extinguish it's flame with the healing waters of wisdom and love. May 2014 be a year of blessings and healing for you, and for our world....

Reprinting of this Circle of Nations newsletter is encouraged! All I ask is that it be printed in its entirety, with no changes, and that I be given proper credit, unless I have otherwise okayed it. Wopila (great thanks)!